On 21 August 2008, Suffolk, the easternmost county in New York State and the New York Metropolitan Area, announced preferential parking for hybrid vehicles only. Preferential parking for hybrids has already been adopted by the City of Los Angeles and Miami-Beach, Florida. In addition, many private businesses such as IKEA, Home Depot and Office Depot have spots for fuel-efficient cars.

Suffolk was also seeking to incentivize energy-efficient transportation choices and promote fuel conservation. Legislator Wayne Horsley (D-Babylon) announced legislation to designate “hybrid-only” parking spaces at county office buildings and county-owned and operated facilities. The proposal introduced by Horsley was entitled “The Green Spaces Initiative”. The accompanying legislation directed the Commissioner of Public Works to designate a minimum of five per cent of parking spaces at all county facilities for the exclusive use of parking by the owner/operators of hybrid vehicles.

Case study courtesy of the UNEP Publication, Reducing Emissions from Private Cars: Incentive measures for behavioural change.